His Destiny
by Ufoseeker
Summary: Taking place after "Time Keeps Slippin'" Fry wanders the streets after being plauged by nightmares centered around that horrible event that occurred the previous week. Can his subconscious self help him realize that Leela still needs him?


His Destiny ****

His Destiny:

An Appropriate Ending to "Time Keeps on Slipping"

By Allen

There it was, a glorious message of his devotion to Leela, written in the stars. "Detonation in 4. . .3. . .2. . .1" Then in a horrendous blast, it was gone.

"Nooo!" Fry screamed, waking in his bed. It was another dream. He sighed to himself. He'd been having the same nightmare for two weeks. He got up to get a glass of water. As he sat down to drink it, he reflected on the events that caused the nightmare. _"Time kept jumping because of Farnsworth's stupid basketball team. I got to marry Leela because of it, but it caused me to forget everything that happened in between the time jumps. Then when I finally found out how I won her heart, it had to be imploded and she didn't even get to see it."_

Fry sighed deeply to himself. First the worms, now this. He was beginning to think his dream would never come true. He loved that woman, that was all there was to it. She had done so much for him, how could he not? He had also done much for her, but she had yet to reciprocate his feelings. _"It must be something about me. She liked me when I had worms, so she probably thinks I'm immature. I have to do something to prove her wrong." _

He thought for a minute. "What's the most mature thing I could possibly do?" he said aloud. He couldn't think of anything so he decided to take a walk. He put on his coat and quietly slipped into the chilly night. He looked around him at the sights that New New York presented to him. There were tall buildings that majestically lined the sky. He saw a beautiful lake with fish jumping out of it. The atmosphere that the city created was that of loneliness, but also of joy at the same time. He passed by streetlights that flickered on and off. He saw the cryogenics building that had first brought him to this world. This thought made him sad. He wondered what made him so special to survive way beyond his family. He just knew there was someone else that should be here, not him.

"You couldn't be more wrong," a familiar voice said. Fry turned around to face himself. This person looked exactly like Fry, except for the fact that he could hover.

"Who are you, my guardian angel?" Fry asked.

"Not really, I'm actually a part of you. I come from that little place that knows things, but you don't have access to that knowledge. No one does. The only time you can come close to it is in your dreams."

"So why are you here? Are you going to show me what life would be like without me?"

"You've been watching "It's a Wonderful Life" too much. I'm actually here to show you the more painful aspects of Leela's past. The stuff she's never told you about."

"What's the point of showing me her past? I already know she's had a horrible childhood."

"Ah, but you don't know how horrible it was. In showing you her past, I am also showing your reason for being here. Your destiny if you will. Keep in mind that when I say that, I don't mean that every aspect of your life is decided for you. Only some aspects of it are decided everytime you make a decision. Thus, creating your purpose for existing today."

"So how are we going to do this?"

"Just take my hand." Fry grabbed onto his counterpart's hand and found himself at Leela's old Orphanarium. The kids were playing in the playground. They walked over to the children and surveyed the area to see a one-eyed child standing alone. "Nobody here can see or hear you. You are in the past, but you're invisible to all those here."

Then, the children gathered around Leela and started chanting, "One eye, One eye One eye!" Fry grew angry at this. He wanted so much to stop those kids from teasing her. He wanted so badly to take the weeping nine-year old into his arms and comfort her.

His counterpart put his hand on Fry's shoulder. "I'm sorry to tell this, but it gets much worse." As if on cue, a child picked up a small stone and threw it at the young Leela. This struck her in the shoulder, causing her to cry even harder. Than to Fry's horror, all the children picked up stones and threw them at her. This not only caused her to cry more, but she also started to bleed. She started to run away, but the children followed her, jeering at her.

Fry was furious. He turned to his subconscious self. "Why doesn't she run to seek help from an adult?"

"It wouldn't do her much good, I'll show you why." Sub Fry grabbed Fry's hand again and this time they appeared inside the building. Right away, Fry could hear anguished cries coming from a nearby room. Sub Fry motioned for Fry to follow him through a door. Upon entering, Fry could see what the source of the cries was. There was Leela, standing there being whipped by a faculty member. There were several members of the faculty lined up as if they were taking turns whipping the anguished child. Sub Fry turned to Fry again. "This is what took place every single night since she was five. They whip her for no other reason other than being a freak. Modern technology always healed her wounds, but they only did it so she wouldn't die. Then the same things would happen day after day."

Fry was at a loss for words. He just stood there watching the horror take place. "If this happened everyday, why didn't she get help from a higher authority?"

"She was never allowed to leave, so she couldn't. They even told prospective parents that she had a contagious disease that would kill them. That's why nobody ever adopted her. She doesn't know they did that, so she always thought she was rejected because of her eye."

"That was uncalled for!"

"I couldn't agree more, but there's an even worse event coming."

"Even worse than this?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but yes." He put his hand on Fry's shoulder and they reappeared in the same place that they were in before. The only difference this time was that Leela was sleeping and looked to be older. Sub Fry spoke again. "She's now sixteen and this is the first of many nights that this event occurred."

At that moment, the door creaked open. Fry turned around to see a distinguished older man enter the room and inch towards Leela. The man cupped his hand over Leela's mouth, muffling her scream. He then ripped the covers off of her and brandished a knife. He proceeded to cut Leela's clothes off and held her to the bed. He climbed on her and began to rape her. Fry covered his eyes, not wishing to see this revolting act. Sub Fry put his arm around Fry to offer some comfort. After the man was finished, he told her not to say anything about this. He threatened to hurt her very badly if she told anyone. He then left the room.

Leela cried softly to herself. Fry, not caring if she could see him or not, ran to her side. His hand went through her when he tried to calm her down. "Don't worry, Leela. You'll leave this horrid place soon enough and you'll find a friend that will really care about you."

"I wish I could believe that," she whispered

Fry looked amazed. He turned to Sub Fry, "She can hear me?"

"Kind of. Your words are registering as her thoughts. You are basically on the same brain frequency right now."

After he had finished digesting this new info, he spoke to Leela again. "You can believe it. You'll grow up to become a very successful person. Remember that when the times are hard."

"I'll remember it," she said to herself.

"Well, Fry ready to go?" Sub Fry asked.

"I suppose I am." He said good-bye to the teenage Leela and grabbed Sub Fry's hand again. They reappeared on the streets of New New York. There was something that was still bothering Fry. "You said that I would learn my purpose for being here by taking that trip. What is it?"

"You're here because you and Leela are, for all intents and purposes, soul-mates. You needed to see her past to understand that she is really waiting for that one person who can make up for all the pain she's suffered. When I found you, you were ready to give up. You have to make Leela see your true worth to her. Only then can she begin to heal emotionally. No matter what she says or does, never give up. Your efforts will be rewarded eventually. All you have to do is be patient and understanding. One day, she will open her heart to you. Remember that whenever you feel like giving up. I've broken a number of rules to show you this. Don't let my disobedience be in vain. That said, I must take my leave." Then he disappeared.

Fry stood there for a moment, wondering what to do next. He decided to pay Leela a visit even though it was close to midnight. He reached Leela's apartment building at about a quarter to one. He walked up the stairs to Leela's apartment and knocked at the door. He was surprised when it opened by the force of his knock. Fry stepped inside to find that she hadn't locked the door. He walked to Leela's bedroom door to knock on it. He heard Leela shouting. "No!" she screamed. Fry burst open the door to find her struggling in her sleep.

He rushed to her side and gently tried to shake her awake. Leela kicked him in her sleep. "Leela, wake up you're dreaming." Leela snapped awake and noticed Fry standing there. She sat up in bed.

"What are you doing here Fry?"

"I couldn't sleep so I decided to come here for a while, is that all right with you?"

"I'd like a little company about now since I had that horrible nightmare." She turned on the light and motioned for him to sit down. "What's up?"

"Well, you might say I had a bit of a wakeup call from myself."

Leela raised her eyebrow. "Yourself?"

"He showed me some things that make me a little more understanding about your past. I saw everything they did to you in that Orphanarium. They teased you, threw rocks at you, whipped you, and even raped you. It was wrong and I just want to say that I care about you a lot and that everything's okay. They can never hurt you again and if they try, they'll have me to deal with." He stopped when he heard Leela crying.

"How did you find out about this?" she asked in between sobs.

Fry hugged her close. "You'll leave this horrid place soon enough and you'll find a friend that will really care about you."

Leela and Fry both said the last words. "Remember that when the times are hard."

Leela looked up at Fry. "Those words gave me the courage to get through that experience."

"I was the one who said that."

"Really?"

"Yep, and I'm not going to give up on the idea of us getting together. It doesn't matter what you say or do, I know we'll be together when the time is right. One day I'll find the one thing I can do to make you feel the same way about me as I do about you."

Leela smiled. "You may find it sooner than you think." Then she turned out the light. This is where we will leave them, looking happily to their future, their destiny.

****

The End

These are the usual disclaimers that these characters don't belong to me. They belong to Matt Groening, the Curiosity Company, and Fox.

This story is for everyone who thought "Time Keeps on Slipping" deserved a better ending. 


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